If you’re reading this and have been flipping through this paper, chances are there is a sense of community that is sweeping into your living space.
A newspaper or any sort of physical print material is important for not only those who are reading it, but to those who are creating and physically delivering the source of material to one’s home.
When you flip through a paper such as Centretown News, the community is opening itself up to you, ready to share all of the vast stories and events happening in and around the area itself.
Once the paper has been leafed through thoroughly, that individual may now feel like they understand and have a better cultural connection to Centretown.
Where is this all leading to you may ask?
Well, with the recent announcement that Xtra – Ottawa’s LGBTQ newspaper – will stop printing its physical issues this month, and news that Brittons has closed, one has to wonder whether having material be more accessible online is the right direction to go.
It has been discussed over and over again how the world is becoming an online society, but is it really what Ottawa needs to keep the community together?
Sure the digital editions are all the rage, but the cultural aspect that a printed paper brings to a community is more powerful even stronger than what a digital copy can do.
Think about it. Flipping through a paper is a great feeling: knowing that you are absorbing material and diving into what the community has to offer.
Buying a paper helps out the community, not only the vendor you bought it from, but also the media outlet and the printer that produced it.
Print gives off a cultural flare that can really only be felt when one actually has a paper in their hands.
Think about when a paper is fresh off the press, literally just off the printer, and still warm.
Think about the many times when you have finished perusing through the material and have just discovered your hands are full of black ink, from the paper.
Sure, it might be a pain to notice, especially if you’ve wiped your hand on your forehead and thus now have a black mark on your face.
It’s embarrassing, but nonetheless a part of the experience with print material.
Print allows you to spend a couple of hours reading vast material without getting a headache, and even though sitting around reading the news might seem like a boring concept for some, it is still a much-needed community ritual.
Though print is said to still be high in numbers, and is the breadwinner for media outlets, it is important to know and to acknowledge that it is a cultural issue and a link that bonds communities.
Think about sitting around the kitchen table as a child perusing the cartoon section with your grandparents, as they read the rest of the paper.
This is why we need to keep print editions afloat.
If all else fails, just remember print papers are good for none-readable concepts like composting. Print is an important part of a community, and therefore, we need to try and keep it intact.